Rysavy will play at UW-Stout next year
Published 7:37 pm Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Lyle-Pacelli head coach Justin Morris consoles Ann Rysavy after she fouled out in LP’s 72-63 loss to Blooming Prairie in the Section 1A West semifinals in Mayo Civic Auditorium recently. — Herald File Photo
Ann Rysavy saw the Lyle-Pacelli girls basketball program grow by leaps and bounds in her six years with the team and now she’s ready to move on and play for another team.
Rysavy, who was named Southeast Conference player of the year this past winter, will play women’s basketball at Division III University of Wisconsin-Stout next season. The Blue Devils finished 11-15 overall last season.
Lyle-Pacelli’s Ann Rysavy saves a ball against Grand Meadow in Lyle earlier this season. — Herald File Photo
Rysavy is expecting to play shooting guard with the Blue Devils, and she’s expecting a big jump in competition at the next level.
“When I played AAU a couple of years back, it was a pretty huge shocker. I didn’t think it was going to be that aggressive and it was crazy,” Rysavy said. “I’m just going to get in the gym as much as I can [to prepare].”
Rysavy is LP’s all-time leading scorer with 1,641 career points and she averaged 14 points, six steals, five rebounds and five assists this past season for the Athletics, who won the SEC title. When Rysavy was a middle schooler, LP went just 2-41 overall, but the Athletics have gone 81-22 overall in the past four seasons combined and they were able to win a playoff game and get to Mayo Civic Auditorium in the past two years.
Rysavy said she saw a spark from her younger teammates in the locker room after they were knocked off by Blooming Prairie 73-62 in the Section 1A West semifinals, and she’s expecting big things from the Athletics in the future.
“I’m never going to forget it, that’s for sure,” Rysavy said of her run at LP. “I’m going to do as much as I can to stay with the girls and keep pushing them to get to the next level. I’ll be behind them the whole time.”
Rysavy is a four-time All-SEC player, and she’s also helped out LP with her leadership and defense.
“Ann has been a spectacular leader in our program and her work ethic and passion have been instrumental to turning our program around,” LP head coach Justin Morris said. “She fills the stat sheet every single night and she has the rare ability to effect a game without scoring. We’re going to miss her dearly but I’m confident she has paved the way for the next group of athletes to pick up where she left off.”
